Recently, among image forming apparatus there is known an image forming apparatus that has the functions of a printer, a copier, a facsimile apparatus, a scanner, and so forth. In such a multifunction image forming apparatus, a display unit, a print unit, an imaging unit, and so forth are provided within a single case, and also, three types of applications are provided that respectively correspond to a printer, a copier, and a facsimile apparatus. Also, technology is known where a web browser is provided as a web client function in the image forming apparatus, and used for apparatus functions by acquiring (downloading) various content from a remote web server and performing browsing. Thus, it is possible to download document data to be printed that is accumulated on a web server that is an information processing apparatus or the like, and execute PDL conversion of the document data or processing of imposition information in the information processing apparatus.
At present, as one sequence of processing that prints document data of a remote information processing apparatus, broadly speaking two printing methods have been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-214692, a printing method has been proposed in which document data is downloaded using a browser of an image forming apparatus, and print processing logic such as PDL conversion and rasterization are executed on the downloaded document data. Below, the printing method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No 2004-214692 is referred to as pull-type printing. Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-118085, a printing method has been proposed in which, for a print operation of document data that has been performed with a browser of an image forming apparatus, PDL conversion is performed by a remote information processing apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is instructed to perform printing as a remote request. Here, among remote requests there are, for example, an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), an LPR (Line Printer Daemon Protocol), web services, and so forth. Below, the printing method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-118085 is referred to as push-type printing.
However, there are the following problems in the conventional technology. For example, with pull-type printing, there is the problem that because PDL conversion is performed in the image forming apparatus, this method of printing is only compatible with limited document data that can be processed with the image forming apparatus. With push-type printing on the other hand, in some instances communication is not possible in an environment in which there is a firewall or a proxy.
Here, for example, a configuration is assumed in which in a head office, an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus are connected by a local network, and a branch office has only an image forming apparatus that is connected to the head office via the internet. In this case, in the head office, the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus are located on the same local network, so push-type printing is possible, but in the branch office, it is necessary to connect to the information processing apparatus of the head office via the internet, so push-type printing cannot be executed. Accordingly, in this sort of configuration, pull-type printing that can be executed in all of the image forming apparatus is applied. However, because pull-type printing is also applied to an image forming apparatus that is on the local network and therefore capable of push-type printing, it is not possible for the image forming apparatus to have advantages of push-type printing such as a high degree of print logic customization. On the other hand, when push-type printing is performed for all of the image forming apparatus, there is the problem that printing cannot be executed in an image forming apparatus connected via the Internet.